Breastmilk no better for baby than formula, scientist claims

Breastmilk is no more beneficial for a child's health than formula milk, a
scientist has claimed.

A Norwegian professor has said that breastfed children are not healthier because they were fed naturally but because of the conditions in their mother's womb tended to be better.

Professor Sven Carlsen, who led the Norwegian team, said: "Baby formula is as good as breast milk."

He said the health of the child is determined by the hormone balance in the mother's womb.

When a woman has high levels of male hormones in the womb the flow of nutrients to the baby is affected and the hormones also affect her ability to breastfeed, making her offspring more likely to be bottle fed.

This suggest that babies who are not breastfed have typically also been subjected to poorer conditions in the womb and it is this that has affected their health not the lack of their mother's milk, he said.

The controversial theory was immediately dismissed by British experts who said the claims were 'irresponsible' and 'overblown'.

Prof Carlsen, from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, said he reviewed data from more than 50 international studies looking at the relationship between breastfeeding and health.

He said the study found no evidence that breastfeeding reduced the risk of asthma and allergies in children, which has been attributed to breastfeeding.

Prof Charlotte Wright, spokesman for the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: "This is irresponsible and overblown. This is a new and largely untested theory that does not seem to be supported by any good epidemiological evidence."

She said Prof Carlsen had presumed that women who do not breastfeed don't do so because they cannot, not because they choose not to. The vast majority of women are able to breastfeed their babies, she said, and those who have difficulty are often successful after help from specialists.

She added: "It is very puzzling that there is no mention of prevention of infection and there is a significant reduction on the risk of infection with breastfeeding."

"Women should remember that we were not designed to be bottle fed, formula is an artificial alternative."

The research is published in the January edition of the Norwegian journal Acta Obstestricia and Gynecologia Scandinavica.

Breastfeeding was discouraged in the 1970s as it was thought as formula fed babies gained weight faster, this was better for them.

But now experts said slow, sustained growth that comes with breast feeding is healthier and can reduce the risk of obesity.

Breastfeeding has also been linked with a reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes, breast cancer in mothers, and with fewer chest infections, ear infections and sickness in babies. In the long-term it is thought breast fed babies are less likely to be overweight, have high blood pressure, have eczema, leukaemia and asthma.

In Britain women are recommended to breastfeed exclusively for the first six months of life.